THE CITY
Besides the Cathedral and Castle, the City of Durham possesses several
churches of decided interest to the student of architecture, which
deserve a brief notice.
The Parish Church of #S. Mary in the North Bailey.#--This small
church is generally known as S. Mary le Bow, owing to the fact that in
its original steeple was an arch, through which the roadway passed. This
steeple fell in 1637, and the ancient structure was allowed to lapse
into complete ruin. The present church was built in 1685, and its most
noticeable feature is the open carved screen between the nave and
chancel erected in 1707. The site of the church is the oldest in the
city, and some writers have thought it probably identical with that of
the White Church in which the body of S. Cuthbert was placed during the
building of the cathedral.
#S. Mary-the-Less# is a small but picturesque church situated in the
South Bailey, and is of Norman date. Its original architectural
character is, however, almost entirely lost, owing to extensive
restorations which took place in 1846-7. The round-headed window now in
the south wall of the chancel, but formerly in the west wall of the
nave, is the only remaining original feature. The church is entered by a
porch on the south side, and consists of a nave and chancel only. Some
stones in the churchyard, which were removed from their position when
the church was restored, are carved with chevron ornament, and would
seem to show that the date of the original structure was the earlier
part of the twelfth century.
#S. Oswald.#--This church stands on high ground overlooking the river
Wear, at the head of New Elvet; and is the parish church of the ancient
borough of Elvet. The first church was erected by Bishop Carileph,
though the earliest parts of the existing building are of the time of
Bishop Pudsey, who also built the bridge across the river, known as the
Elvet Bridge. To this date (about 1190) belongs the eastern part of the
nave arcade, the arches of which are semi-circular and rest upon tall
round piers. Early in the fourteenth century a new chancel was built,
the aisles rebuilt and extended to the west end, and two new arches
added to the west end of the nave arcades. In the early part of the
fifteenth century a clerestory and open parapet were added, and a new
oak roof placed over the nave. This was most probably a hammer-beam
roof, and was coloured and gilded and decorated with angels holding
shields. The only parts remaining at the present day are the grotesque
carved corbels, and the angels. The tower was also constructed at this
time. In 1834, owing to subsidence of the ground, it became necessary to
rebuild the south aisle and a large part of the chancel, which caused
the destruction of much architectural beauty. The open parapet was
removed, the clerestory windows replaced by the present inferior ones,
and the fine oak roof destroyed. The east end of the chancel was rebuilt
in 1864. Special attention should be directed to the fine oak stall-work
in the chancel, boldly carved in the style of the early part of the
fifteenth century. The tower, which forms a beautiful and conspicuous
landmark, is reached by a stone staircase of unusual character. It is
placed in the thickness of the wall, and is covered in with twenty-four
gravestones of thirteenth and fourteenth century date, on which may yet
be seen portions of inscriptions and symbols. Built into the tower was
part of a Saxon cross, which has now been removed for preservation to
the dean and chapter library. This cross is interesting as evidence of
the existence on the same site of a pre-Norman church. The tower was
carefully restored in 1863. It contains a peal of six bells, which were
re-cast in 1694, and bear the following inscriptions:--
1. GLOVIA(?) IN ALTISSMISS(?) DEO PEX FORSTER A
VIC CHRISTO HODSON ME FECIT 1694.
3. DEVM TIMETE PEX FORSTER AM VIC I EVANS C
WARDEN CHRISTO HODSON ME FECIT.
4. REGEM HONORATE PEX FORSTER A M VIC 1694
CHRISTOPR HODSON MADE ME I EVANS I S
H R.
5. IBIMUS IN DOMVM DOMINI PEX FORSTER A M VIC
CHRISTOPER HODSON MADE ME 1694 IO EVANS
CHV W.
6. OSVALDUS FLOREM MEREOR QVIA GESTO TENOREM
PEX FORSTER AM VIC IO EVANS IS WH RW
CW 94.
The second bell was cast in 1885.
#S. Margaret's# Parish Church is situated on the steep hill called
Crossgate. It is opposite to and across the river from the Castle, and
from its churchyard a fine western view of the cathedral is obtained.
The church was built during the early part of the episcopate of Bishop
Pudsey (1154) and was formerly a chapel under the church of S. Oswald.
Here again alterations and restorations have obliterated much that
originally existed. The church at present consists of a nave and aisles,
a chancel with aisles, a western tower, and north and south porches. The
existing portions of the original church are the chancel arch, and the
south arcade of four bays, together with part of the clerestory and the
north wall of the chancel. The arcade consists of low massive circular
piers, with cushion capitals and plain chamfered abaci, which support
semi-circular arches of one order also chamfered.
The north arcade is also Norman, and very similar in character to that
of S. Oswald. No doubt it is of the same date, and probably built by the
same architect. The chancel arch has two orders, recessed square and
chamfered, with a plain chamfered hood mould. On both north and south
sides of the arch is a squint. With the exception of two which are
Norman, the windows are nearly all of modern date. One is in the north
wall of the chancel and is widely splayed. It is not seen on the outside
owing to the vestry which now covers it. The other, a very interesting
specimen, is situated over the western bay of the south arcade, and is a
portion of the original clerestory and the earliest known clerestory
window in the county. The roof of the nave is of oak, and a good
specimen of Perpendicular work. The tower is of fifteenth-century date,
and exceedingly plain externally, but vaulted in the interior. It opens
on to the church by an arch which has been inserted in the west wall.
There is an interesting font of Frosterley marble, which is apparently
of the same date as the chancel. The vestry which is raised above the
level of the church floor is of the fifteenth century, and has on its
gable the original gable cross.
[Illustration: The Cathedral and Castle, from the North.]
The Parish Church of #S. Giles# occupies a very elevated position at
the north-east end of the city, and commands one of the finest views of
the cathedral, castle, and city, which it is possible to obtain. It was
built by Bishop Flambard and finished as early as 1112; but the north
wall of the nave, containing two small Norman windows, widely splayed
inwards, and a walled-up doorway is all that remains of this early
church. The chancel is of later Norman of the time of Pudsey. Both
within and without a bold chamfered string course runs round the
chancel. On the south side is a semi-circular headed window, with a
carved dripstone and nook shafts, the capitals of which bear a similar
character to those in the Galilee Chapel of the cathedral. In the north
wall of the chancel is the priests' door, now walled up, and the corbels
and springers of the original chancel arch built by Pudsey. The present
arch was erected in 1876. In 1414 considerable alterations were made
during the episcopate of Bishop Langley, when the walls of the nave were
raised, the upper stage of the tower built, and the west window
inserted. The font is a fine stone bowl resting on a shaft, and is
undoubtedly of the time of Flambard. The chancel contains some monuments
of the Tempest and Heath families, who were the ancestors of the
Marchioness of Londonderry, patroness of the church and parish of S.
Giles. The tower contains three bells, the first and second of which are
pre-Reformation and the third bears the date 1646.
On the north side of Gilesgate near to the North-Eastern goods station,
are the ruins of the little #Chapel of S. Mary Magdalen#, of which
only a small portion remains. At the west end of the north and south
walls are two doorways, the latter walled up. Portions of the east
window are still in position, but it would appear to have been of
earlier date than the surrounding walls, and probably had been brought
from some other building. In the interior are the remains of a
Frosterley marble font, and a gable cross of thirteenth-century date is
in the custody of the dean and chapter. The chapel was 43 feet by 161/2
feet wide. It is supposed to have been founded by Sir John Fitz
Alexander. In 1370 it was almost entirely rebuilt, and again in 1449, on
a site near the original one. The reason for this was the moisture of
the ground, which caused the foundations to become insecure. The
government was in the hands of the almoner of the cathedral, who
distributed doles to the poor. The chapel was used as a place of worship
until nearly the end of the seventeenth century, when, owing to its
ruinous condition, services were finally discontinued.
* * * * *
[Illustration: PLAN AND DIMENSIONS.]
PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS OF THE CATHEDRAL
Feet. Inches.
Length of Nave 201 0
Width of Nave 39 0
Width of Nave Aisles 21 0
Length of North Transept 66 0
Length of South Transept 66 0
Width of Transepts 37 0
Length of Choir 132 6
Width of Choir 39 6
Width of Choir Aisles 19 0
Length of Nine Altars Chapel 131 0
Width of Nine Altars Chapel 38 6
Height of Vaulting of Nine Altars Chapel 77 0
Height of Vaulting of Choir 74 6
Height of Vaulting of Nave 72 0
Height of Vaulting of Lantern 155 0
Width of Lantern E. to W. 40 6
Width of Lantern N. to S. 39 0
Height of Tower Arches 68 6
Length of Galilee Chapel 77 0
Width of Galilee 49 0
Height of Western Towers 144 6
Height of Central Tower 218 0
Total length of Church (interior) 469 6
Thickness of Wall at West End 8 0
AREA 44,400 sq. ft.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
1. Words and phrases which were italicized in the original have been
surrounded by underscores ('_') in this version. Words or phrases
which were bolded have been surrounded by pound signs ('#').
2. Obvious printer's errors have been corrected without note.
3. Inconsistencies in hyphenation or the spelling of proper names, and
dialect or obsolete word spelling, has been maintained as in the
original.